Weekday cartoon facts for kids
A weekday cartoon is a fun name for animated TV shows that used to be shown a lot on regular TV channels in the United States. This happened mostly on weekday mornings and afternoons. It was very popular from the 1960s onwards. These shows were a big part of growing up for many kids.
Cartoons Today
After 2005, most big TV channels in the U.S. stopped showing cartoons on weekdays. This was a big change from how things used to be.
PBS is a special TV network that still shows animated series on weekdays. It is a non-commercial network, which means it does not show commercials like other channels.
Other channels like The CW, MyNetworkTV, ABC, NBC, and CBS mostly stopped showing weekday cartoons. Sometimes, they would air shows very early in the morning. This was often to follow rules about showing educational programs for kids. These rules are called the E/I rule, which means "Educational and Informational."
Even cable channels that focus on kids' shows have fewer weekday cartoons now. If they do show them, it might be when kids are still sleeping or at school.
The E/I Rule
The E/I rule is a government rule in the United States. It says that TV channels must show a certain number of hours of educational and informational programs for children. This rule often affects when and what kind of kids' shows are aired.
Qubo and Other Channels
In September 2006, Ion Television started a block of shows called Qubo. This block first aired on Wednesday through Friday afternoons. Qubo shows were designed to meet the E/I rules. Later, Qubo moved to Friday mornings.
On November 1, 2008, another channel called This TV launched a kids' block. It was called Cookie Jar Toons. This block aired on weekday mornings and weekend mornings. However, This TV stopped showing this block in 2013.
This left Ion Television's Qubo as the main weekday children's block on regular TV. But on January 4, 2015, Qubo moved to Sunday mornings. It was renamed "Qubo Kids Corner." This marked the end of a long time of weekday children's shows on regular TV. Later, "Qubo Kids Corner" stopped, and Qubo returned to weekdays. It aired on Wednesday through Friday mornings.
MundoMax was another channel that aired one cartoon in Spanish on weekday afternoons. It was a commercial network that followed the rules for kids' programming. When MundoMax closed, Qubo and some small local TV stations were the only ones left airing weekday cartoons.
New Channels with Cartoons
In 2016, a new channel called Light TV started showing cartoons on weekday mornings. This was the first time since 2013 that a commercial channel had done this. Light TV followed the rules without big sponsors from food or toy companies. However, Light TV stopped airing cartoons full-time in late September 2019.
In late 2020, MeTV announced a new cartoon block. It is called "Toonin with Me." This hour-long block started airing on weekday mornings at 7 AM in January 2021.
